Asia Society Switzerland's Summer Reading List

Book Recommendations by Members and Asia Society Global Staff

With summer holidays being finally here, it is time for our second round of book recommendations as there is hardly a better way to enjoy this season than reading a gripping book outside.

We decided to ask the members of Asia Society Switzerland as well as our colleagues at the Asia Society Centres around the world to tell us what their favourite book (fiction and/or non-fiction) from or about Asia is.

We have gathered the following selection of recommendations which hopefully will get you covered for this summer season:

Bruce Lee. A Life by Matthew Polly (2018)
«I have to confess that martial arts movies send me to sleep! But who can’t be interested in such a cultural icon as Bruce Lee? This is a very serious and well-researched biography (with lots of great photos) of a pop culture icon who deserves more recognition for the stereotypes and barriers he challenged and broke through.»– Anne Kirkup (Asia Society New York)

The House of Trembling Leaves by Julian Lee (2013)
«Former stockbroker turned author Julian Lees has an innate sense of bygone eras that he evokes effortlessly in his writing, perhaps because his own life is steeped in history that stretches from Russia and China to Hong Kong. Great reading, excellent background learning about Chinese, Russian history and connecting roots in Macao.» – Roger Groebli (Member of Asia Society Switzerland)

Exit West by Mohsin Hamid (2017)
«I couldn't decide if this was a love story, an adventure story or pure fantasy but I loved every genre-bending moment. The book follows Nadia and Saeed on a journey from their war-torn city (in what we assume to be the middle east) to the west through a series of mystical doors. With each new door comes a new location, Mykonos, London, San Fransisco, and in turn a new challenge for this young couple. For the reader, the doors bring a growing appreciation of this dystopian near future. War, global warming and massive population flow from the global south to the 'west' have turned Nadia and Saeed's world on its head. It can be bleak and confusing, but suspend all belief and enjoy. This is a story about humanity, hope and kindness.» – Jette Radley (Asia Society Australia)

A Drifting Life by Yoshihiro Tatsumi (2008)
«Tatsumi's graphic novel/memoir charts his sentimental education as he becomes a professional manga artist and, through his struggles to realize the full possibilities of the form, establishes the gekiga style of more realistic comics. A sharply drawn on-the-ground portrait of the ascendance of manga in postwar Japan and a group of frustrated young artists struggling to define themselves, and make a living, through their work.» – Michael Buening (Asia Society Texas)

Human Acts by Han Kang (2017)
«The «Gwangju Uprising» is one of the great collective tragedies in South Korea. The images of military violence against protesters and the deaths of children and students bring every hard-boiled Korean to tears immediately. Han Kang, known to not shy away from brutality, masters to give account of the uprising and its aftermath with tenderness and in detail. Through the perspectives of seven characters she gives us a lecture in both history and empathy.» – Serena Jung (Asia Society Switzerland)

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